When I started my Ph.D. program, I also started work on a backyard project: a mosaic stream for our parched San Diego back yard.
This was my first-ever mosaic project, starting as a small idea for a water feature for our drought-tolerant landscaping, and evolving into the go-big-or-go-home art installation you see in the below video.
Step Into the (Virtual) Stream:
This project took eleven months to complete and used tens of thousands of tiles. The mosaic covers over 85 square feet and is comprised of ceramic, glass, and stone tiles, thinset, and grout on a concrete foundation. While I had some ideas and found some cool tiles to incorporate, none of the mosaic was pre-designed; rather, the design emerged one tile at a time as I worked.
The video provides different views of the stream’s two branches, as well as closer views so you may discover the secret sayings hidden in each branch of the stream. One is a quote from Rumi, and the other is something my neighbor, Dana, said to me back in September when the enormity of the project I was about to undertake started to really set in: you will survive and it will be beautiful. Her words hold even more relevance today.
It’s an imperfect video, but this is also a gloriously imperfect stream. That’s part of the beauty of it, I think. May it create a moment of respite for you, and may it bring you joy.
Thank you for sharing this piece of art and beauty. It has definitely given me a moment of peace; a respite from a hectic world.